Wrapping up the bowls: Highlights, analysis of every 2013-14 bowl game

Florida State edged Auburn 34-31 in the BCS national championship game Monday night, bringing an end to the 2013-14 bowl season.

The Seminoles had to come back from 11 down at the half and scored two touchdowns in the final 4:31, including a 2-yard pass with 13 seconds left, to rally past the Tigers.

Among some of the other most memorable games during the 2013-14 bowl schedule were Michigan State's win over Stanford in the Rose Bowl, as well as Texas A&M's shootout victory over Duke in the Chick-fil-a Bowl.

Earlier in the bowl season, local teams BYU and Utah State experienced differing results. The Aggies won their second straight bowl game, beating Northern Illinois in the Poinsettia Bowl; the Cougars, meanwhile, fell in disheartening fashion to Washington in the Fight Hunger Bowl.

Here's a look at all 35 games this bowl season.

BCS national championship game

No. 1 Florida State 34, No. 2 Auburn 31

PASADENA, Calif. — Jameis Winston threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin with 13 seconds left and No. 1 Florida State beat No. 2 Auburn 34-31 to win the last BCS national championship game on Monday night.

Winston struggled much of the night but was near perfect when the Seminoles (14-0) needed it most, going 6 for 7 for 77 yards on the game-winning 80-yard drive. A pass interference penalty on Auburn's Chris Davis gave Florida State a first-and-goal at the 2 and on the next play Winston hit his big receiver for the touchdown.

"I said this from Day 1 in spring ball. These kids are special," coach Jimbo Fisher said. "This group never faltered. They wanted to be elite. They wanted to go to the top and there's so much character in this group."

Tre Mason had given Auburn (12-2) a 31-27 lead with a 37-yard touchdown run with 1:19 left after Kermit Whitfield had put Florida State in the lead for the first time since the first quarter with a 100-yard kickoff return to make it 27-24 with 4:31 left.

Ball State had a chance to tie at the end of regulation, but Scott Secor's 38-yard field goal attempt was blocked as time expired.

Arkansas State (8-5) won the GoDaddy Bowl for a second straight season, despite losing starting quarterback Adam Kennedy to a knee injury in the second quarter. It was the Red Wolves' third straight trip to Mobile.

Patton Robinette threw two 50-yard touchdown passes to Jordan Matthews, and Vanderbilt recovered after blowing a 24-point lead to beat Houston 41-24 on Saturday in the BBVA Compass Bowl.

Robinette, starting after senior Austyn Carta-Samuels had season-ending surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee, also had an 8-yard scoring run as Vanderbilt built a 24-0 lead in the first half.

After Houston (8-4) pulled even by scoring 24 points in the third quarter, Vanderbilt reclaimed the lead on Brian Kimbrow's 21-yard touchdown run. It was the start of 17 fourth-quarter points for the Commodores.

"The thing that's probably the most exciting to me is there is a culture of winning at Vanderbilt," Franklin said. "These guys know how to win. A lot of different ways they do it, ugly, pretty, people can describe it however they want."

Vanderbilt (9-4) closed the season with five straight wins, adding to Franklin's status as a possible candidate for coaching vacancies, including at Penn State and with the NFL Browns and Redskins. The Commodores played in three straight bowl games under Franklin — a first for the program — and completed their first back-to-back nine-win seasons.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller stayed down on the ground and clutched his right shoulder, a grimace of pain visible through his face mask.

A jarring hit had just caused Miller to lose a fumble, one of four turnovers by the Buckeyes in the final 20 minutes of the Orange Bowl, and they all hurt. Clemson took advantage in a game with four lead changes and won 40-35 Friday night.

The Buckeyes' final turnover was the most costly. They took over at midfield with 1:27 to go trailing by five points, and on second down Miller threw his second interception to seal the defeat.

"We just didn't finish," coach Urban Meyer said. "It was right there to finish."

ARLINGTON, Texas — Missouri got the big plays it needed at the end of the Cotton Bowl to beat an old rival.

Henry Josey ran for 92 yards and three touchdowns, the last a 16-yarder with 3:08 left, and Shane Ray returned a fumbled 73 yards for a touchdown after that, and the No. 9 Tigers beat No. 13 Oklahoma State 41-31 late Friday night.

The former Big 12 and Big Eight rivals traded points on six consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter, until Oklahoma State quarterback Clint Chelf was sacked and fumbled with a minute left. Ray picked up the ball and rumbled 73 yards down the sideline in front of the stunned Cowboys bench to score.

Trevor Knight passed for 348 yards and four touchdowns and No. 11 Oklahoma took down third-ranked Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, 45-31 on Thursday night.

Knight's completion percentage entering the game was 52.2. He had completed 47 passes all season, and had 32 against Alabama to set a Sugar Bowl record.

The victory was a sweet one for Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who last offseason called talk about the Southeastern Conference being the best league in college football "propaganda."

His team vanquished an Alabama squad that had been ranked No. 1 much of the past three seasons, winning the previous two national titles.

AJ McCarron passed for 387 yards and two TDs, but his two interceptions set up Oklahoma TDs, and his fumble, returned for a score in the final minute, sealed 'Bama's first two-game skid since its Sugar Bowl loss to Utah in January 2009.

The Sugar Bowl's 80th edition marked the first in which both quarterbacks passed for 300-plus yards.

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Blake Bortles threw for 301 yards and accounted for four touchdowns, Storm Johnson ran for three more scores, and No. 15 Central Florida pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the bowl season by outlasting No. 6 Baylor 52-42 in the Fiesta Bowl on Wednesday night.

A 17-point underdog, Central Florida (12-1) didn't back down from the big, bad Bears, racing past the nation's top offensive team with an array of big plays.

The jumped out to an early 14-point and kept rolling, piling up 556 total yards in the highest-scoring game in Fiesta Bowl history.

PASADENA, Calif. — Connor Cook passed for a career-high 332 yards and hit Tony Lippett with a tiebreaking 25-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, leading No. 4 Michigan State to a 24-20 victory over No. 5 Stanford on Wednesday night in the 100th Rose Bowl.

Cook also threw a TD pass to Trevon Pendleton, and Jeremy Langford rushed for 84 yards and a score in the first Rose Bowl victory in 26 years for the Big Ten champion Spartans (13-1), who finished the season with 10 straight wins.

Michigan State's defense capped its dominant season with one more old-school, smash-mouth performance during the centennial celebration of the Granddaddy of Them All.

ORLANDO, Fla. — South Carolina senior quarterback Connor Shaw was responsible for five touchdowns, including three passing, and No. 8 South Carolina outlasted No. 19 Wisconsin 34-24 in the Capital One Bowl on Wednesday.

Shaw was named the game's MVP after picking apart the Badgers defense, completing 22 of 25 passes for 312 yards. Shaw also had scores rushing and receiving. South Carolina (11-2) won its third straight bowl game to cap its third straight 11-win season.

Wisconsin (9-4) lost its fourth straight bowl game, failing to capitalize on 100-yard rushing games from both Melvin Gordon and James White, and struggling after quarterback Joel Stave left in the third quarter with a shoulder injury.

"You kind of walk a fine line between being aggressive, getting after the quarterback and containing him," Badgers coach Gary Andersen said. "Our plan was to be aggressive. At times we didn't get the pressure we should have and at times he was able to extend plays."

TAMPA, Fla. — What Anthony Jennings lacked in experience, LSU more than compensated for with a talented supporting cast in the Outback Bowl.

Jennings made plenty of freshman mistakes Wednesday, however they weren't nearly as costly as they could have been for the 14th-ranked Tigers with Jeremy Hill rushing for 216 yards and two touchdowns in a 21-14 victory.

"Anthony in his first start was tight," coach Les Miles said, adding that Jennings learned some lessons will be beneficial moving forward with his career.

"He wasn't perfect by any stretch," Miles said. "But he did what he had to do."

"Our team wanted to create a legacy, and the seniors wanted to be the first group to win 10 games four years in a row. They wanted to win a bowl championship and they wanted to commit to playing as a team," Miles said. "The hard work that each and every guy has went through, there was no question they were going to play hard together."

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Facing third-and-14 at the 1, Nebraska had a choice: Sneak the ball in hopes of getting a little extra room to punt or take a shot deep.

The Cornhuskers chose to throw — and boy did they wing it.

Tommy Armstrong Jr. connected with Quincy Enunwa for a 99-yard touchdown strike— the longest play in school history — and Nebraska held on to beat No. 23 Georgia 24-19 in the rain-soaked Gator Bowl on Wednesday.

"I know one thing: There will never be a longer play in the history of college football than that one," Cornhuskers coach Bo Pelini said. "That was a big play for us."

Equally big were Georgia's failures down the stretch. The Bulldogs (8-5) dropped two fourth-down passes in the closing minutes, helping Nebraska (9-4) close out its first bowl victory since 2009.

DALLAS — Derek Thompson and Brelan Chancellor were among the seniors who wanted North Texas' first bowl game in nine years to be close to family and friends.

They made a lot of green-clad fans very happy.

Thompson threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns, Chancellor scored twice and the Mean Green dominated the second half of a 36-14 victory over UNLV in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on Wednesday.

North Texas (9-4) pulled away from a 7-7 halftime tie for its first bowl win since New Orleans in 2002.

"We sent a message that this is a program on the rise," said McCarney, a 36-year veteran coaching in the historic Fair Park venue for the first time. "I think we're a good example for other football teams that if you do things the right way, it can pay off."

Johnny Manziel threw four touchdown passes, and Toney Hurd Jr. returned an interception 55 yards for the go-ahead touchdown in Texas A&M's 52-48 victory over Duke on Tuesday night in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Manziel, playing in what might be his final college game, completed 30 of 38 passes for 382 yards and ran for 73 yards and a touchdown. Hurd's interception return gave the No. 20 Aggies (9-4) their first lead with 3:33 remaining.

No. 22 Duke (10-4) led 38-17 at halftime and 41-31 entering the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils couldn't hold off the comeback and are still looking for their first bowl win since beating Arkansas 7-6 in the 1961 Cotton Bowl.

Dak Prescott threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores and Mississippi State trounced Rice in the most one-sided Liberty Bowl victory in the game's 55-year history.

Mississippi State (7-6) wrapped up its fourth straight winning season and prevented Rice (10-4) from winning bowl games in back-to-back years for the first time.

Prescott accounted for five touchdowns to set a Liberty Bowl record. He was 17 of 28 for 283 yards and ran for 78 yards on 14 carries.

Mississippi State's Jameon Lewis caught nine passes for 220 yards to break the Liberty Bowl receiving record of 201 set by Houston's Vincent Marshall against South Carolina in 2006. Lewis also set the school single-game record.

Brett Hundley threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more scores to help UCLA rout Virginia Tech Sun Bowl.

The UCLA quarterback had 86- and 7-yard touchdown runs and finished with 161 yards on 10 carries. Hundley also completed 16 of 29 passes for 226 yards and two scores.

Hundley and UCLA linebacker Jordan Zumwalt shared MVP honors. Zumwalt had 10 tackles and returned an interception 43 yards to set up a touchdown.

The Bruins (10-3) outscored the Hokies (8-5) 28-2 in the fourth quarter.

After Virginia Tech cut it to 14-10 on Michael Branthover's 22-yard field goal with 3:53 left in the third quarter, UCLA answered with a 12-play, 85-yard drive, capped by Paul Perkins' 5-yard run early in the fourth.

Hokies backup quarterback Mark Leal then threw a pass under heavy pressure that linebacker Myles Jack intercepted and returned 29 yards for a touchdown that made it 28-10.

B.J. Denker threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns, Ka'Deem Carey rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns and Arizona had an easy time against Boston College in the Advocare V100 Bowl.

Arizona (8-5) never trailed, leading 21-6 by halftime and 42-6 early in the fourth quarter. Carey had his 16th straight game with at least 100 yards rushing while Denker added a 14-yard touchdown run.

The game was billed as a matchup between two of the nation's top running backs — Arizona's Carey and Boston College's Andre Williams. But the duel between AP All-America first team selections was one-sided.

Williams, who won the Doak Walker Award over Carey, was held to 75 yards rushing and a touchdown. Boston College (7-6) didn't score a touchdown until Williams' 4-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

"I apologized to our players. We didn't have them prepared to play, but don't take anything away from Texas Tech," Arizona State coach Todd Graham said after the No. 16 Sun Devils lost 37-23 to the Red Raiders on Monday night.

Freshman quarterback Davis Webb threw for 403 yards and tied the Holiday Bowl record with four touchdown passes as Texas Tech snapped a five-game losing streak.

Webb tied the mark set by BYU's Jim McMahon in 1980 and matched by Kansas State's Brian Kavanagh in 1995 and Texas' Major Applewhite in 2001.

Texas Tech All-America tight end Jace Amaro had eight catches for 112 yards. He set the FBS single-season record for yards receiving by a tight end with 1,352.

The Red Raiders (8-5) won for the first time since beating West Virginia on Oct. 19. Arizona State (10-4) lost its second straight.

Quarterback Marcus Mariota had 386 total yards and Oregon returned two interceptions for touchdowns, spoiling Mack Brown's farewell.

The BCS-snubbed Ducks (11-2) dominated throughout — even though their famously high-powered offense scored just one touchdown and repeatedly settled for field goals.

Mariota led all rushers with 133 yards on 15 carries and was 18 of 26 for 253 yards passing in a Heisman Trophy campaign tuneup for 2014, having announced earlier this month that he was coming back for his junior season.

Far from the uplifting send-off Texas wanted for Brown, the school now shifts its focus to finding a replacement. New Texas athletic director Steve Patterson said before kickoff that he wants a successor by Jan. 15.

"I think it's best for Texas. It's best for me, it's best for the players," he said. "We need to win more than eight games. Last year was nine. I really thought we had a chance to win all the games this year. It didn't work. It's my job to make that work. I told them tonight, the only regret I had is we didn't win enough games this year."

Bo Wallace ran for two touchdowns and threw for another score, and Ole Miss beat Georgia Tech 25-17 Monday in the Music City Bowl.

Wallace made up for his three turnovers in the Egg Bowl overtime loss by throwing for 256 yards and running for 86 more, giving him the school record for total yards in a season and most completions in a season, topping Eli Manning for both.

"I knew I needed to have a good game," said Wallace, also chosen the bowl's MVP. "At the same time, I thought all day sometimes I try to make too many plays. I think all day I was thinking, 'Don't try to make too many plays. Just make the plays that are there.' That's what I did."

Ole Miss (8-5) now has won six straight bowls and 10 of the last 11 in making up for the lone loss in that stretch in the 2000 Music City Bowl. The Rebels came in tied with Auburn and Florida State, who play Jan. 6 for the BCS national championship, for the longest bowl winning streak.

Keenan Reynolds has two more seasons at Navy and a chance to join another select group of players.

Reynolds ran for two more TDs, giving the sophomore 31 this year, and Navy ended the season with a 24-6 victory over Middle Tennessee on Monday in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Already with the NCAA record for touchdowns rushing by a quarterback, Reynolds put Navy (9-4) ahead to stay with a 3-yard score to cap the opening drive of the game. He added a 1-yarder in the fourth quarter, his 31st to match Colorado State running back Kapri Bibbs for the national lead.

Only Barry Sanders (37) with Oklahoma State, and Wisconsin's Montee Ball (33) have run for more scores in a season.

"It's huge. You just say the name Barry Sanders and you can stop right there," Reynolds said. "He probably was the greatest college player there was. Just to be even in that conversation with guys like that is a humbling experience. I never thought I would be in that category."

North Carolina recorded five sacks, including a safety as they pounded the Cincinnati Bearcats 39-17 in the Belk Bowl on Saturday.

T.J. Logan returned a kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown, and Ryan Switzer scored on an 86-yard punt return to help North Carolina to its first Belk Bowl victory in four attempts.

"We're standing here today because of our coaching staff and our senior leadership," said Switzer, the game's MVP. "Those two groups, they didn't let us hang our heads. They didn't let one person walk into the building who wasn't willing to work. We knew we had the talent the ability to turn the season around. We had to have the heart to do it."

North Carolina coach Larry Fedora added, "At 1-5, nobody thought we would be sitting here today. But these guys kept believing and got it done."

Rees finished his four years at Notre Dame with both memorable and forgettable moments. He has been "The Closer," rallying Notre Dame to victories with late drives, and "Turnover Tommy," making crushing mistakes at the most inopportune times during his career.

"I'm a Tommy Rees fan for life," coach Brian Kelly said. "He's going to keep chasing that football dream. But I told him he's got a bright future as a graduate assistant for Brian Kelly (me) anytime."

This certainly wasn't the ending the Cougars were hoping for. BYU had its four-game bowl winning streak snapped by Washington in the Fight Hunger Bowl.

The Cougars' offense never got on track, as all of the team's points came in the second quarter. Even then, BYU was forced to kick three field goals, to just one touchdown.

The Huskies scored on a 100-yard kickoff return in the second quarter and another long kickoff return set up a second score, after BYU had clawed within 14-13. Bishop Sankey also scored two rushing touchdowns for Washington.

Even in defeat, quarterback Taysom Hill and wide receiver Cody Hoffman put up solid numbers for BYU. Hill rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown to go along with 288 passing yards, and Hoffman hauled in 12 receptions for 167 yards.

TEMPE, Ariz. — Jake Waters threw for 271 yards and connected with Tyler Lockett on three touchdowns, leading Kansas State past Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl for its first bowl victory in 11 years.

Kansas State (8-5) scored on its first three possessions, all touchdown passes from Waters to Lockett, and its defense dominated Michigan to end a five-game bowl losing streak.

Lockett set a school record with 10 catches for 116 yards and Waters completed 21 of 27 passes, sending the Wildcats to their first bowl victory since the 2002 Holiday Bowl.

Freshman Shane Morris was steady in place of injured starter Devin Gardner, leading Michigan (7-6) on two early scoring drives. The Wolverines settled for field goals on both and did little the rest of the way, finishing with 261 total yards.

Morris threw for 196 yards on 24-of-38 passing with an interception before leading Michigan on a late scoring drive with the game out of reach. Michigan's defense also had trouble stopping Kansas State most of the night, giving up 420 total yards

Kansas State finished the season strong after some early difficulties — starting with a home loss to FCS North Dakota State — winning five of its final six games while scoring at least 31 points in each.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Rakeem Cato threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns, and Marshall used two fourth-quarter scores to rally past Maryland 31-20 Friday in the Military Bowl.

The Thundering Herd (10-4) trailed 20-17 before Cato brought them back. After directing a 63-yard march to put Marshall up 24-20 with 12:05 left, Cato clinched it with an 8-yard touchdown throw to Gator Hoskins with 3:42 to play.

Cato completed 28 of 44 passes — with no interceptions — to help Marshall reach double digits in wins for the first time since 2002. The Thundering Herd came in averaging 43 points per game, but its underappreciated defense played a huge role in this one.

Maryland (7-6) scored only one touchdown after halftime, and A.J. Leggett followed Cato's final TD pass with an interception to set off a celebration among the huge gathering of Marshall fans among the crowd of 30,163.

The Aggies made program history as they won their second consecutive bowl game and beat a ranked team in a bowl game, both for the first time.

Utah State (9-5, 7-1 MWC) stymied Heisman Trophy finalist Jordan Lynch, who had just 216 yards passing, 39 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Lynch had 99 or more yards rushing in his past seven games, including two games with more than 300 yards rushing. Safety Brian Suite had a fantastic day with a fumble recovery and an interception.

While Lynch and the Huskies (12-2, 8-0 MAC) struggled to move the ball, Joey DeMartino ran all over the NIU defense on his way to 143 yards rushing on 23 carries and one touchdown.

James Conner rewrote the Pitt record book with 229 yards rushing on 26 carries. That is the most any running back at Pitt has ever had in a bowl game.

That includes Panthers legend Tony Dorsett. Dorsett set the record in the 1977 Sugar Bowl, more prestigious than the Little Caesars Bowl, but the record is impressive nonetheless.

MAC champion Bowling Green (10-4, 7-1 MAC) was able to hang with Pitt for the entire game. Matt Johnson tied the game at 27-27 with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Burbrink with just 4:42 left in the game, but Chris Blewitt did not blow it with a 39-yard field goal with 1:17 to go to give the Panthers (7-6, 3-5 ACC) the lead.

Two big mistakes on offense for Boise State turned into 14 points for Oregon State (7-6, 4-5 Pac-12). Beavers cornerback Rashaad Reynolds returned two Boise State fumbles for touchdowns.

Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion and wide receiver Brandin Cooks both set Pac-12 season records with their performances in this game. Mannion threw for 259 yards and finished 2013 with 4,662 yards passing, while Cooks had 60 yards receiving and finished the season with 128 catches for 1,730 yards receiving.

Boise State quarterback Grant Hedrick had a solid day with 382 yards passing and one touchdown, but the Broncos (8-5, 6-2 MWC)struggled to sustain drives and find the end zone. Boise State doomed itself in this game by spotting the Beavers 14 points and settling for field goals and not touchdowns.

East Carolina started the game with 14 unanswered points in the first quarter and finished it with 20 unanswered points in the fourth. Pirates quarterback Shane Carden capped his season with 273 yards passing and a touchdown and set a new school season passing record in the process. Running back Vintavious Cooper also had a huge day with 198 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the day.

Meanwhile, Ohio quarterback Tyler Tettleton had a rough day with 228 yards passing, one touchdown and three interceptions. Ohio (7-6, 4-4 MAC) had its bowl-game winning streak snapped at two, while East Carolina (10-3, 6-2 C-USA) snapped a four-game bowl losing streak of its own with this win.

Louisiana-Lafayette started this game strong as it scored 21 unanswered points to begin the game, including a Cory Trim 82-yard pick-six off Nick Montana. Montana was benched in favor of Devin Powell, who led Tulane to three unanswered touchdowns to tie the game at 21-21. However, Powell threw a costly pick in the fourth quarter that set up a 27-yard Hunter Stover field goal to give the Ragin' Cajuns (9-4, 5-2 Sun Belt) a three-point lead.

Tulane had a chance to send this battle of local Louisiana teams into overtime with a last-minute field goal. Unfortunately for the Green Wave (7-6, 3-5 C-USA), Cairo Santos missed the 48-yard attempt wide left.

San Diego State (8-5, 6-2 MWC) scored almost at will against the Bulls as Adam Muema ran wild with 229 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Aztec quarterback Quinn Kaehler also had a good day with 211 yards passing and two touchdowns.

Buffalo (8-5, 6-2 MAC) struggled to move the ball against the Aztec defense, gaining just 309 yards of total offense. Quarterback Joe Licata threw a costly interception at the end of the first half and Boise Ross fumbled the ball on the opening kickoff of the second half. San Diego State converted both turnovers into touchdowns.

The Trojans (10-4, 6-3 Pac-12) made up for last season's lackluster performance in the Sun Bowl by dominating MWC champion Fresno State in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Quarterback Cody Kessler threw for 345 yards and four touchdowns to set a Las Vegas Bowl record. Wide receiver Marqise Lee had seven catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns, and Nelson Agholor added five catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns.

The USC defense held Fresno State (11-2, 7-1 MWC) to just 37 yards rushing. Former BYU running back Joshua Quezada had only 20 yards on two carries. Senior Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr struggled as well with just 216 yards passing and an interception, but he did score two touchdowns.

The first bowl game of the 2013-14 season started things out with a thrilling comeback and a last-second field goal.

Washington State (6-7, 4-5 Pac-12) led the Rams 45-30 after Connor Halliday found Isaiah Myers for a 22-yard touchdown with just 9:35 left in the game. It just didn't seem like Colorado State (8-6, 5-3 MWC) had enough time to get back into the game.

Two possessions later, CSU quarterback Garrett Grayson hit Jordan Vaden to cut Washington State's lead to eight, but only 2:52 remained in the game. The Rams needed the ball back, and senior linebacker Shaquil Barrett delivered by forcing and recovering a Jeremiah Laufasa fumble. Kapri Bibbs turned the fumble into a touchdown from one yard out, and Donnell Alexander barely made the two-point conversion on a Statue of Liberty fake.

Disaster struck for the Cougars as Teondray Caldwell fumbled during the ensuing kickoff return, and Jared Roberts kicked the winning 41-yard field goal as time expired for the Rams.